Twerking Causes Miscarriage, Injury?

Twerking has become all the rage recently, and Miley Cyrus’ performance on the VMAs last night exhibited the “dance” in all its glory. But some women aren’t quite as happy with the dance as Miley Cyrus is. Twerking can cause a variety of injuries from miscarriage to popped knees. In addition to these afflictions, many students have been suspended from school and numerous children have been severely punished by their parents over twerking.

These are just some of the unfortunate side effects of twerking. A couple of months ago, a very prominent stripper in Houston, Texas suffered a devastating miscarriage while dancing on stage. The Examiner reporter an insider saying:

Jhonni Blaze is currently in the hospital recovering from a miscarriage that occurred on Wednesday… according to co-workers and patrons at the club, she was dancing at VLive …while on stage she started bleeding profusely…she had apparently suffered a miscarriage… the stripper then left the stage and to the back where she started having convulsions.. she was then rushed to the emergency room where doctors gave her a blood transfusion for the loss of blood… unfortunately they could not save the life of the unborn child.

This report led to wide speculation that twerking was at the root cause of the miscarriage due to the extreme up and down motion of the pelvic region. While Blaze has since taken to Twitter to deny the various eyewitness accounts, medical website Medical Daily states that several studies show both extreme exercise and being in a crouched position can increase the risk of miscarriage. They also warn that “WebMD specifically discourages pregnant women from activities with ‘jarring motions or rapid changes in direction,’ ‘bouncing while stretching,’ and ‘waist-twisting movements while standing’ — especially in hot and humid environments.” All of the specifications, of course, perfectly describe the motions one participates in while twerking. It seems safe to say that twerking may not be safe for pregnant women.

Indeed, the website goes on to say, “Unfortunately for twerking enthusiasts, all of these describe variations of their dance style. Even if accounts of Blaze’s miscarriage are untrue, this medical advice suggests that she, and all other women, should avoid twerking too hard while pregnant.”

Besides miscarriage, twerking can also result in severe injury, such as damaged knees and other joints. YouTube videos abound with incidents of people popping their knees out while performing the movement. Over time, repeatedly displaced knees can lead to permanent damage.

Of course, there are also many reports of students being suspended from school over their making of twerking videos and twerking in the school yard. One father got so angry at his daughters for twerking that he beat them severely. His case made national headlines, but a quick YouTube search reveals numerous videos of parents freaking out when they find their children performing the move.

Twerking advocates, such as instructors of online and in-person exercise classes stress that it is important to warm up the body thoroughly before attempting the move. By warming up, they say, injury can possibly be avoided. Some medical professionals feel that twerking is still not safe for pregnant women, though, due to the threat of miscarriage.

2 Responses to "Twerking Causes Miscarriage, Injury?"

I don’t care for the “dance move” but this is a ridiculous article. The miscarriage likely would have happened anyway. Women in my day did all kids of heavy work and physical activity before we even knew we were pregnant and because we had to and didn’t miscarry. I used to have to push my husbands car every morning to get it started all through my 1st pregnancy and I didn’t miscarry not to mention many other physically strenuous activities.